Drying your hair can be a time-consuming task. This is where blowdrying comes in handy. But what exactly are the benefits of blowdrying your hair?
There are actually many advantages of blow-dryers, from improving your hair’s overall health, your ability to style it, and as a way to save you serious time and money.
So, read on for everything you need to know about the advantages of blow dryers.
What Is A Blow-Dry?
A blow-dry is a treatment that you would typically receive at a salon. Your stylist will use a hand-held blow dryer to dry damp strands via hot air.
That said, you can use a hand-held blow dryer yourself at home – you don’t have to go to a salon to give your hair some serious volume.
Below, we detail how to use a blow dry at home in order to get salon-ready locks, as well as advise on what kind of hair dryer to look out for when you’re in the market for one.
4 Proven Benefits Of Blow Drying Hair
Might reduce your risk of fungal infections
Some people are more prone to sensitive, irritated scalps. In some cases, this can cause bacterial or fungal infections and might result in dandruff.
If you leave your hair and scalp to air dry all the time, bacteria is more likely to accumulate as a result of the moist environment.
Using a hair dryer can therefore help those who suffer from sensitive scalps to manage this.
Far better for your hair overnight
Sleeping on wet hair is a big no.
Wet hair is more prone to damage and breakage, and sleeping on it will only exacerbate this problem, as you’ll experience friction between your pillow and your strands.
You also shouldn’t tie your hair up when wet, either, for the same reason.
If you’ve washed your hair just before bed, you should be using a hair dryer to dry it as far as possible.
This means that you avoid any of the above issues, and can tie your (dry!) hair up to sleep without any problems. You can also always boost your hair’s moisture levels by treating it with an overnight mask after having blow-dried it.
It’s a win-win all around.
Improves hair’s volume, manageability, texture, and appearance
Using a hair dryer has so many advantages for individuals with different hair types and textures.
If your hair is super fine, using a blow dryer can improve its volume and bounce.
Alternatively, if your hair is thick and frizzy, using a hair dryer with the correct products can make your tresses far more manageable, and smoother, too.
Using a hair dryer will also help you to achieve softer, smoother, and straighter hair – without using a flat iron.
Of course, you can get the super straight look by using both a hair dryer and flat iron, but if you don’t want to double-down on heating tools, just use the former.
Makes styling hair far easier
Using a blow dryer will make styling your hair much easier. It allows you to get smooth, glossy locks with ease – and you can then turn these into whatever look you’re going for.
Use a wide-toothed comb to detangle knots, apply a styling product, and work your strands into the style of your choice.
Advantages Of Hair Dryers
These four advantages of hair dryers are overall benefits – you can see more below on how blow dryers can benefit your hair’s health more specifically.
Using a hair dryer decreases drying time
The clue is somewhat in the name – a hair dryer allows you to rapidly dry your hair by blasting hot air throughout your strands.
Using a hair dryer is much faster than air drying, and can therefore save you precious minutes for you to invest in something else.
Using a hair dryer is also super easy, provided you follow a few basic rules (more on those below).
Can save you money
If you get comfortable with using a hair dryer to style your own strands, you’ll no longer keep having to hit a salon to get a blowout that will earn you serious style points.
You’re therefore saving your pennies every day, and can put them towards something else.
Reduces your exposure to colds and headaches
If it’s cold, wet, and windy outside, there’s nothing worse than heading out with wet hair. In fact, it’ll likely lead to headaches, and you may even contract a head cold as a result.
Using a hair dryer will allow you to warm both your scalp and strands, thus avoiding this.
Gives you greater styling control
Bad hair days can really hamper your sense of confidence and may lead to an overall sense of anxiety and discomfort.
Using a hair dryer can help you to feel that you’re in charge of your hair because you’re in control of drying and styling it.
This then sets you off for the day feeling cool, calm, and in control.
Disadvantages Of Hair Dryers
Admittedly, however, there are some disadvantages to blow dryers.
We detail these so as to give you the most comprehensive overview of hair dryers possible, meaning that you can make an informed decision on whether or not you want to use them.
Can burn both your hair and scalp
If you use a blow dryer without a heat protectant, or if you use it at a very high temperature and direct the airflow to a concentrated section of your hair or scalp for overly long, you could burn both your hair and scalp.
This is an absolute no-no, as it will only lead to irritation and maybe even burns on your scalp. It will also seriously damage the surface of your hair.
Once this is damaged, your inner layers – such as the cortex or cuticle – are only going to become more vulnerable to becoming damaged themselves.
You, therefore, need to ensure you only use your blow dryer at a reasonable temperature, always use a heat protectant, and never leave the airflow concentrated on one area for too long.
Can minimize your hair’s shine and brightness
Heat is useful for hair, but over-relying on it can seriously impact its health, appearance, and texture.
Using a hair dryer that’s too hot will make your strands duller, which can make them appear and feel less soft and shiny.
May weaken the hair follicle
Your hair follicle’s integrity is essential – it’s what will keep your hair healthy.
Overuse of a blow dryer can damage the follicle, and extended periods of damage may lead to hair thinning or even loss.
Can damage hair’s texture
Whilst using a hair dryer can help to make frizzy hair more manageable, if you overuse it, or use it at a too-high temperature, you’re actually frazzling your strands.
This will make your hair feel really dry and coarse.
If you blow dry immediately after showering, and without having gently towel-dried your strands first, any moisture will immediately evaporate.
You might therefore end up with brittle, breakable tresses.
In fact, in extreme cases, this can produce a kind of bubbling or blistering effect, where the extreme heat of the hair dryer causes the hair cuticle to rupture and split.
Can be loud
If you’re using an old hair dryer, it might be a little loud.
Having this close to your ears can be disruptive, and it definitely makes sneaking around your apartment or house in the morning more difficult.
Can You Blow Dry Hair Every Day?
We wouldn’t recommend using a blow dryer every day.
Although there are serious advantages to using a hair dryer on a regular basis, you are still applying heat to your hair – and heat does damage strands.
It will strip them of their natural oils and might lead to your locks feeling and looking a little brittle or dry.
What Is The Best Way To Dry Your Hair?
There are several key things to keep in mind when you’re shopping around for a hair dryer:
- Do not blow dry your hair at a temperature over around 110 degrees Fahrenheit. A hair dryer with around 1800 watts and multiple temperature settings is the ideal.
- Ensure that your nozzle is around 15cm away from your scalp.
- Do not point your airflow at one section of your scalp or hair for too long – you want to be moving it around so as to minimize the risk of burning.
Remember that blow dryers with ceramic or tourmaline technology is best, as this distributes the heat better.
Models with ionic charge can also speed up drying time significantly, meaning your strands are less exposed to heat. You’d ideally also go for a product with multiple nozzles so that you can change it up depending on your styling preference.
Most important of all – always use a heat protectant when blow drying your hair.
Otherwise, follow these step-by-step instructions when blow drying your hair:
- You don’t want to blow dry soaking wet hair. Use a towel – microfiber is best – to gently soak up any excess water.
- Apply your heat protectant
- Section your hair using clips – pin your top layers of hair out of the way first, so you can dry the lower layers first.
- Once these are dry, blast your top layers. You can use differently nozzle attachments depending on your hair type (for example, curly girls may want to use a diffuser), or the look you’re going for.
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